Department for Transport

Railway Stations: Disability

Mr Mark Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many railway stations in (a) Nottinghamshire, (b) England and (c) the UK are not compliant with disability access guidelines and requirements.

Claire Perry: Information on the accessibility of individual railway stations is collected by the Rail Delivery Group and published as part of the Stations Made Easy facility on the National Rail Enquiries website at: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/default.aspx

Bus Services: Tyne and Wear

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the review his Department has commissioned KPMG to conduct on bus market dynamics will assess the Tyne and Wear bus market.

Mr John Hayes: The study is considering the bus market in England outside of London to ensure that the Department understands the state of the bus market and is well placed to respond to emerging thinking in the sector.   The Department is not part of the Tyne and Wear Quality Contract Scheme process as it is a matter for local determination, and the Department is not seeking to influence that process. It is not our intention to publish any new evidence on buses before the election purdah period.

Bus Services: Tyne and Wear

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether KPMG has been given unrestricted access to commercially sensitive data held by his Department for its inquiry into bus market dynamics.

Mr John Hayes: Consultants, when working for the Department, are given access to data held by the Department. The conditions for access, restrictions on the consultants and the measures for protecting and respecting the confidentiality of the data are detailed in the Department’s standard user agreements.

Airports

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the relationship between direct air connectivity between UK airports and overseas locations and tourism from the overseas locations so connected.

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the contribution made by the direct connectivity of UK airports to emerging markets to tourism from such locations in the medium and long-term.

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the comparative benefits to businesses of direct aviation connectivity between two locations and connectivity requiring a stopover at a hub airport.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government has set up the Airports Commission to examine the question of how best to maintain the UK’s international hub connectivity. As its Interim Report shows, the Airports Commission is taking account of economic benefits to the UK of aviation connectivity when making recommendations. The Commission’s final report is due to be submitted to Government in summer 2015. The Government’s principle concern is to protect the integrity and independence of the Commission through to the final report and will not be commenting on its ongoing work.

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons it is not a requirement to monitor and detect in real time organo-phosphate compounds in the cabin air of aircraft operating in and out of UK airports.

Mr Robert Goodwill: It has not been shown that cabin air exposures, either in general or following specific incidents, cause ill-health. Responsibility for introducing any additional monitoring or detection system on board a commercial aircraft is the responsibility of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Aviation: Scotland

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of direct flights from Scottish airports to emerging economies which have commenced since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The table below shows the number of air transport movements at Scottish airports on direct routes outside Western Europe or North America, which have commenced since 2010.  Number of flight departures, 2010-2013 Reporting AirportNext AirportNext Country2010201120122013AberdeenBakuAzerbaijan 62841AberdeenRigaLatvia  113AberdeenAntalyaTurkey410  EdinburghIstanbulTurkey  97314EdinburghBudapestHungary 92137137EdinburghSharm El SheikhEgypt4416 39EdinburghTallinEstonia 125  EdinburghSzczecin (Golenow)Poland  4962EdinburghKatowicePoland   63EdinburghAntalyaTurkey 222016EdinburghEnfidhaTunisia   26GlasgowEnfidhaTunisia 3474116GlasgowBoa Vista (Rabil)Cape Verde Islands 3553 GlasgowWarsaw (Chopin)Poland   88GlasgowGdanskPoland   86GlasgowPunta CanaDominican Republic 13  PrestwickBydgoszczPoland  83105PrestwickWarsaw (Chopin)Poland   135PrestwickModlin MasoviaPoland  68 PrestwickRzeszowPoland   63PrestwickWarsaw (Modlin Masovia)Poland   42 Source: Civil Aviation Authority Airport Statistics   Routes with less than 10 departures in a year are excluded.

Railways

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of co-ordination of work by the train operating companies and Network Rail in order to ensure the smooth running of the railway.

Claire Perry: While there will inevitably be occasions when things do not go to plan, Network Rail and the train operators generally work together well in ensuring the safe and reliable running of services. The effective co-ordination of their respective activities is also supported by the work of a number of cross-industry bodies such as the Rail Delivery Group and National Task Force.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Wales

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff transferred from Swansea Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre  to Milford Haven Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre between January 2012 and February 2015.

Mr John Hayes: No staff permanently transferred from Swansea Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) to Milford Haven MRCC in the period between January 2012 and February 2015.   However two people will move to Milford Haven MRCC from Swansea MRCC on 16 March when Swansea MRCC closes. In addition, four people from Swansea MRCC will transfer into the new coastal structure of Her Majesty’s Coastguard.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Wales

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff were employed at (a) Swansea and (b) Milford Haven Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in (i) August 2013, (ii) February 2014, (iii) August 2014 and (iv) February 2015.

Mr John Hayes: The new flexible shift patterns and the ability for areas covered by the new HM Coastguard structure to be handled by any Coastguard within it mean workload is managed nationally rather than on a centre by centre basis. This enables HM Coastguard to proactively match available staff across the whole network to its busiest areas and times, both diurnally and seasonally.   It is therefore more relevant to consider the total number of Coastguards available on the growing national network   As of 6 March 2015 this network, and the benefits it delivers, with stretch from Beachy Head to the Mull of Galloway. The transition of the national network around the United Kingdom will be complete by December 2015.   The number of staff that were employed at the two Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs) during the dates asked are shown below:   MRCCAug-13Feb-14Aug-14Feb-15(a) Swansea25232018(b) Milford Haven23232122

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the amount of money that has been saved by the Government by making vehicle tax registration available online.

Claire Perry: Since its introduction in 2004, the online vehicle licensing service has delivered an estimated total efficiency saving of £95 million (up to financial year 2013/14).   In addition, further efficiencies will be realised as a result of abolishing the tax disc in October 2014 of around £10 million per year.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Wales

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many hours of training Milford Haven staff have received from staff at the Swansea Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre on knowledge of the coastline currently covered by Liverpool Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre.

Mr John Hayes: The staff at Milford Haven Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) have not received training from the staff at the Swansea MRCC on knowledge of the coastline that was covered by Liverpool MRCC.   Sharing of knowledge of the coastline covered by Liverpool MRCC was undertaken between Coastguards at Liverpool MRCC and Holyhead MRCC. Sharing of knowledge of the coastline currently covered by Swansea MRCC is undertaken between Coastguards at Swansea MRCC and Milford Haven MRCC.

A595

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the A595 has been closed to traffic because of (a) roadworks and (b) accidents in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road accidents occurred on the A595 in each of the last 10 years; and how many such accidents resulted in fatalities.

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of likely numbers of road users on the A595 in each of the next 10 years.

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what requests his Department has received for additional funding for the A595.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The A595 is a primary route and different sections of the road fall under the responsibility of either the Highways Agency or the local highway authority, Cumbria County Council.   The Department for Transport does not hold information on how many times the road which falls under Cumbria County Council’s responsibility has been closed to traffic due to (a) roadworks and (b) accidents in each of the last ten years. The attached table shows closures on the sections of the A595 which falls under the responsibility of the Highways Agency.   In addition, the following table provides data on reported personal injury road accidents on the entirety of the A595 by severity between 2004 and 2013. Data is not yet available for 2014. Accident Severity FatalSeriousSlightTotal20046301441802005527109141200652113015620073201171402008311991132009219971182010610941102011316759420124138910620132138196 The Department does not have an estimate of the number of road users expected to use the A595 in the next ten years.   As part of the Highways Agency Route Strategy investment planning process, the Agency published an evidence report for the North Pennines route strategy in April 2014. This took into account the details of the Cumbrian Strategic Economic Plan and any priorities identified through the Local Enterprise Partnership and by other stakeholders. The Highways Agency will continue to work with stakeholders as it finalises the North Pennines route strategy.  



A595 Closures
(PDF Document, 678.73 KB)

Southern Railway

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has made to Southern Railway about its performance.

Claire Perry: The Department’s senior officials attend four weekly meetings with the train operators senior management team, where all aspects of performance under the franchise agreement is scrutinised and challenged. Whilst the Department also monitors each train operator’s overall performance, the Franchise Management team remains in close regular contact with Southern particularly whilst performance is not at the level passengers expect.   As my Right Honourable Friend is aware, I recently convened and chaired roundtable meetings with the senior management of both Southern and Thameslink (GTR), Network Rail, Department officials who are responsible for the franchise in the DfT, MPs whose constituencies are being affected by the performance of these operators, Passenger Focus and London TravelWatch, and the Office of Rail Regulation.   Ministers and officials have also held a number of meetings with Southern, Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation to discuss the poor performance on the Southern routes. This has resulted in Southern, Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail publishing a high level improvement plan on their websites which sets out the actions they are taking to turn things around.   Furthermore, the Department has secured a commitment that Network Rail , Southern and GTR shall provide a monthly report on progress towards their committed outputs and publish this on their websites, so that passengers have transparency on what is being delivered.

London Bridge Station

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has made to Network Rail about engineering works at London Bridge station and their effects on rail services into and out of that station.

Claire Perry: The Secretary of State met with Mark Carne in January, seeking assurances that the disruptions passengers experienced in early January were not to be repeated .Officials from the Department for Transport (DfT) are also in regular contact with Network Rail, and train operators to ensure that appropriate actions are taken to improve the service offered to passengers.   As my Right Honourable Friend is aware, I recently convened and chaired roundtable meetings with the senior management of both Southern and Thameslink (GTR), Network Rail, Department officials who are responsible for the franchise in the DfT, MPs whose constituencies are being affected by the performance of these operators, Passenger Focus and London TravelWatch, and the Office of Rail Regulation.   At the meetings, GTR, Southern and Network Rail presented their high level improvement plan, which sets out the actions they are taking to turn things around across six key areas: Infrastructure, Trains, Timetable, Drivers, Operations and Customer Experience. The plan has also now been published on their websites and, importantly, they have committed to updating it by the end of February with specific commitments on the outputs that will be delivered.   Following these presentations, the operators were challenged on a range of issues, including the Thameslink Programme-related disruption at London Bridge.   As a result of the meetings I secured a commitment that Network Rail and the train operators will provide a monthly report on progress towards their committed outputs and publish this on their websites, so that passengers have transparency on what is being delivered.

Railways: Franchises

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under what circumstances his Department may remove a franchise from a train operating company before the scheduled end of a franchise contract.

Claire Perry: Schedule 10 in the Franchise Agreement between the Secretary of State and the train operator defines under what circumstances the Department can remove a franchise from a train operating company before the scheduled end of a franchise contract – copies of all Franchise Agreements can be found on the Government website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-register-of-rail-passenger-franchise-agreements.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Antisemitism

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Inquiry into Anti-Semitism, published in February 2015 by the All-Party Group on Anti-Semitism, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to tackle the use of social media for anti-Semitic abuse.

Stephen Williams: We are currently carefully considering the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-semitism.

New Businesses: Government Assistance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support his Department is providing to coalfield communities to help develop new businesses; and what estimate he has made of the number of jobs which will be created as a result of such initiatives.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for Communities and Local Government has funded the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, Coalfields Enterprise and Growth Funds and the Homes and Communities Agency’s coalfield projects. Based on information provided by these sources, 38 businesses have been developed and over 25,000 jobs have been created or safeguarded.The Coalfields Regeneration Trust has a history of supporting communities through the provision of training and health programmes, community assets, and small grants. Going forward, they have been allowed to invest in property assets to generate income and growth. They will also be providing small start-up loans and supporting people to make the most of employment opportunities.We have created Enterprise Zones in former a number of former coalfield areas – in Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham, Kent and the Tees Valley – all helping to create growth in former Coalfield communities. For example, the Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone aims to create 14,000 jobs by 2020 and has sites on former collieries. The Orgreave colliery and coking plant is now transformed into a centre for advanced manufacturing and Markham Vale is benefitting from capital grant funding to develop the successful business park. The Government has invested nearly £12 million into local infrastructure - £1.8 million investment in Sheffield Business Park Phase 2 and £10 million in the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham.

Enterprise Zones

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many business tenants are in place in each Enterprise Zone.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many jobs have been created in each Enterprise Zone since May 2010.

Penny Mordaunt: Since they started in April 2012, Enterprise Zones have reported that they have created over 15,500 jobs, and over 480 businesses have been established.

Planning Permission

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what restrictions apply to people who were recently employed as local planning officers working in the private sector on planning applications in the same local authority area in which they were previously employed.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Planning Permission

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of planning applications which are determined under delegated authority by planning officers in (a) England and (b) each of the district authorities in Gloucestershire.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Ukraine

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he will be laying a Gifting Minute before the House in respect of Saxon armoured vehicles exported to Ukraine.

Mr David Lidington: The 20 Saxon armoured vehicles exported to Ukraine was a commercial sale between a private company and the Ukraine Ministry of Defence, and subject to the rigorous export licensing process. The vehicles were not gifted to Ukraine by the Government, therefore a gifting minute will not be laid before the House.

Cyprus

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the government of Cyprus on that country's proposed renewal of its military co-operation agreement with Russia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: We are aware of reports of recent agreements, including military agreements, between the Republic of Cyprus and Russia. It is our understanding that the military aspects represent a continuation of existing arrangements. The United Kingdom remains fully engaged on a range of security and military issues with the Republic of Cyprus.The EU has sent a united message to Russia that its actions in Ukraine are in flagrant breach of international law, and all member states, including Cyprus, unanimously agreed to impose measures against Russia in response to these actions.

Middle East

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the likelihood of a two-state solution emerging in the Middle East.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: A negotiated two state solution is the best way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all.We are working closely with international partners on how we can support a renewed process. We do not underestimate the challenges, but firmly believe that if both parties show leadership, peace is possible.

Russia and Middle East

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the strategic analysis capability of his Department in relation to Russia and the Middle East.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office invests significant resources in policy analysis and capability in relation to the Middle East and Russia, including through our cadre of dedicated Research Analysts and is further enhancing capacity through the States and Societies Faculty in the new Diplomatic Academy.

Iran

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of progress in the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries.

Mr Philip Hammond: We have made some progress in recent weeks in negotiations, but we are still a long way off an agreement: Iran needs to respond positively to solutions the P5+1 have put forward if we are to make progress; and that needs to happen urgently - a lot of complex and difficult issues need to be resolved before we can reach a comprehensive deal, which addresses our proliferation concerns, and we have little time left before the deadline.

Radicalism

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle extremist ideology and to reduce its appeal worldwide.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: There is an urgent need to tackle poisonous, extremist ideology and propaganda. We are working closely with our international partners to address extremist material online, mobilise civil society and religious leaders to challenge extremism in all its forms, and identify more effective ways of countering ISIL’s and other extremists’ messaging.

Pakistan

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Pakistan on discrimination and violence against people of minority faiths in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are deeply concerned by the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan.On 24 February I raised UK concerns about the blasphemy law with a group of visiting Pakistani parliamentarians.The Foreign Secretary also discussed Pakistan’s blasphemy laws with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in November 2014.We will continue to support all efforts in promoting religious tolerance and freedom of speech in Pakistan, and call for perpetrators of human rights abuses to be brought to justice.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Offshore Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with (a) trade unions representing the offshore workforce and (b) industry representatives on the effect of recent reductions in oil prices on the steps required to achieve revising the oil and gas Industrial Strategy for (i) safety, (ii) skills, (iii) the supply chain, (iv) decommissioning and (v) the fiscal regime.

Matthew Hancock: The Oil and Gas Industrial Strategy is under constant review by the Oil and Gas Industry Council, on which industry and trade unions are represented. The Council last met in November 2014. Discussions on the implications of the effect of recent reductions in oil prices took place at the January meeting of Pilot, on which industry and trade unions are also represented. The next meeting of the Industry Council is on 24th March 2015.

Offshore Industry: North East

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent fall in the price of oil on (a) projects, (b) employment prospects and (c) long-term competitiveness and capacity in the offshore sector supply chain in the North East of England; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: We recognise the important role that businesses in the North East of England play in the oil and gas offshore sector supply chain. No specific assessment has been made of the effect of the recent fall in the price of oil on business in the North East of England, but the Department continues to work with its local offices to monitor the situation. I am planning to visit Newcastle shortly to gain first-hand knowledge of the issues.

Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to resolve the mis-selling of Enterprise Finance Guarantee loans to small business by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Matthew Hancock: The Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) is a valuable programme that helps viable businesses get access to finance where they have insufficient security or an inadequate track record. Since launch, EFG has supported SMEs by enabling over 23,000 loans with a total value of some £2.4bn (as at 31 December 2014) and has a significant wider economic benefit. Funding for up to a further £500 million of lending was made available for 2015/16 in the 2014 Autumn Statement.   Following evidence of concerns of lending by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in August 2014, the Department asked RBS to instigate an internal review into this issue. The findings of that review and a proposed course of action were presented at a meeting with the British Business Bank in December 2014, and senior executives from RBS met my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on 14 January 2015. I have asked the British Business Bank – which now administers the programme on behalf of the Department – to continue to closely monitor the action being taken by RBS to address these issues. I have been given assurance from RBS that they will put right any cases where they are at fault to ensure that no detriment is suffered by either the borrower or the taxpayer.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Ukraine

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, to state the date or dates on which export licence approval was given for the export of Saxon armoured vehicles to Ukraine, the number of Saxon armoured vehicles for which export approval was given and their stated value.

Matthew Hancock: On 23 December 2014 two licences were granted for export to Ukraine of a total of 75 Saxon Armoured Personnel Carriers. The stated value of the export was £2,075,000.

Insolvency Act 1986

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Insolvency Act 1986.

Jo Swinson: The Deregulation Bill and the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, both currently before Parliament, contain a number of proposals relating to insolvency which will amend the Insolvency Act 1986. Amongst these proposals are: deregulatory and Red Tape Challenge measures aimed at reducing unnecessary regulations and costs in insolvency proceedings; measures to strengthen and improve confidence in the insolvency practitioner regulatory regime; measures aimed at improving creditor redress where company directors are culpable for debts; and a reserve power to make regulations relating to pre-pack administrations.   I have also laid a statutory instrument which will amend the creditor petition bankruptcy limit as set out in the Insolvency Act.

Higher Education: Carers

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to ensure universities better support students who are also carers.

Greg Clark: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Arms Trade: Ukraine

Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many export licences have been issued to UK companies selling military equipment to the Ukrainian armed forces in the last two years.

Matthew Hancock: Seven licences have been granted to UK companies for military-rated items in the last two years where the end-user was named as the armed forces, national guard or MOD of Ukraine.   A further three licences have been granted for supply of components or technology to end users, for the development or production of goods, for ultimate supply to the armed forces/national guard/MOD of Ukraine.

Apprentices

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to figure 31 of the Apprenticeship Pay Survey 2014, published in December 2014, what proportion of apprentices aged 25 or older were working for their employer before starting their apprenticeship in each academic year since 2009-10.

Nick Boles: The 2014 Apprenticeship Pay Survey is not directly comparable to earlier Apprenticeship Pay Surveys (in 2005, 2007, 2011 and 2012) due to substantial changes in both coverage and questionnaire design.   However, the 2014 Apprenticeship Evaluation: Learner Survey[1] shows that, of those apprentices aged 25+ who completed or were undertaking a Level 2 or Level 3 apprenticeship between August 2012 and March 2013, 91% worked for their employer before starting their apprenticeship. The proportion is unchanged compared with the previous year[2].   [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-evaluation-learner-survey-2014[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-survey-learners

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many bids by local enterprise partnerships to (a) the Regional Growth Fund and (b) the Exceptional and Regional Growth Fund have been (i) received, (ii) selected and (iii) not selected in each bidding round in each region since those funds were established.

Greg Clark: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of regional growth fund monies allocated to local enterprise partnerships have been drawn down in each bidding and in each region since those funds were established.

Greg Clark: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Development

Legal Costs

Rebecca Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on legal fees in the case of The Queen (on the application of O) and the Secretary of State for International Development.

Mr Desmond Swayne: We are unable to comment on issues relating to an ongoing legal action.

Department for Education

Sixth Form Colleges: VAT

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions Ministers in her Department have had with sixth form colleges on VAT exemption and linking with Academies since May 2010.

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many sixth form colleges have expressed an interest in linking with Academy chains since May 2010.

Nick Boles: Ministers have had numerous discussions with sixth form colleges about VAT exemption since May 2010. Any sixth form college can collaborate with an academy or academy chain. To create a more formal link, sixth form colleges can apply to become an academy sponsor. Since May 2010, fourteen sixth form colleges have expressed an interest in becoming an academy sponsor.

Sixth Form Colleges

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether sixth form colleges can apply for academy status; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Boles: Holding answer received on 02 March 2015



It would be legally possible for a sixth form college to become an academy, but the Department is not currently able to consider applications. This is because we have not yet been able to resolve difficult issues such as the cost of VAT and the handling of existing debts held by sixth form colleges. We are looking at these issues, but cannot promise to solve them.

University Technical Colleges: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons her Department's funding for a university technical college on the side of the former Anfield Comprehensive School was withdrawn.

Mr Edward Timpson: In August 2014, approval for the UTC Liverpool Engineering and Logistics project was withdrawn, and the associated funding cancelled. This decision was taken because the Universal Technical College project had made insufficient progress to give the Department for Education confidence that a good quality school would open and flourish. At the time of withdrawal of approval, the preferred location for the UTC was the former Anfield Comprehensive School site.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which offences prisoners serving a sentence of 12 months or less had committed (a) on the latest date for which information is held and (b) during the latest year for which information is held.

Andrew Selous: Since 2010, offenders are more likely to go to prison and for longer. Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent judiciary, taking account of all the circumstances of each case. Latest available information on the number of prisoners serving an immediate custodial sentence of 12 months or less, by offence group, in England and Wales can be viewed in the attached table. The Government has recognised the unacceptably high level of re-offending among offenders receiving short custodial sentences and has responded with provisions in the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014, which for the first time requires all those serving custodial sentences to be subject to 12 months of supervision following their release. This means that every sentenced offender leaving prison will spend at least 12 months under supervision (during which time they will be liable to be sent back to prison if they breach their conditions) where previously around 45,000 have been released each year with no statutory oversight. These new statutory requirements have been combined with a significant new approach to rehabilitation under which Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) – which bring together the best of the public, private and voluntary sectors – are working in new and innovative ways to tackle re-offending and will be paid according to the results they achieve.



Prison population under a custodial sentence
(Excel SpreadSheet, 33.5 KB)

Court Orders: Compensation

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much compensation has been ordered to be paid by courts in North Wales in the last three years for which records are available; and how much of that sum has been recovered from those ordered to pay compensation.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This Government takes recovery and enforcement of financial impositions very seriously and remains committed to finding new ways to ensure impositions are paid and to trace those who do not pay. This is why there has been a year on year increase in the total amount of financial penalties collected over the last three years. The amount of money collected reached an all time high of £290 million at the end of 2013/14 and collections continue to rise. In 2013/14 the total outstanding balance of financial impositions reduced by £26.7m (5%) in the year. The table below shows the value of compensation orders imposed in North Wales over the last three years and the value that had been recovered by the end of the year imposed. YearCompensation imposedCollected in same year of impositionCancelled in same year of imposition Outstanding at end of year of imposition2011/12£508,150£174,652£29,241£304,2582012/13£485,074£184,810£24,535£275,7302013/14£562,557£200,850£9,230£352,478 The value of the impositions that remain outstanding at the end of the year includes accounts that were not due to be paid by the end of the period specified (either because they were imposed close to the end of the year or because they had payment timescales set by the courts for beyond the end of the financial year) and those that were being paid by instalments on agreed payment plans. The values cancelled could be legal or administrative cancellations. Administrative cancellations only take place in certain circumstances and after all attempts to collect the amount outstanding have been made. These circumstances include where the offender has died, where they have emigrated with no prospect of return, where the offender has been sent to a mental institution for 12 months or more or where the offender cannot be traced and there has been at least 12 months from the point of imposition. It should be noted that administrative cancellations can be re-instated if the prospects of recovery improve (where, for example, a new address is found). Legal cancellations occur after the case has been reconsidered by a judge or magistrate and further evidence has been presented. Legal cancellations can be as a result of a successful appeal, a change in financial circumstances of the offender or a committal to prison for non payment. The majority of the cancellations applied within the same year of imposition will be as a result of legal cancellation.

Information Commissioner

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative information his Department holds on pay rates of the Information Commissioner's Office and other independent regulators and ombudsmen with similar functions for staff at the same grade.

Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice does not hold a comparative list on pay rates at the Information Commissioner’s Office and other similar bodies, and the information could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Information on salaries of senior staff in public bodies is published by the Cabinet Office and can be found on the GOV.UK website, or within relevant annual reports of individual bodies.

Information Commissioner

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average percentage pay rise was of Executive Team staff at the Information Commissioner's Office since June 2014; and what average pay increase has been proposed for non-executive staff excluding buy-out of contractual progression.

Simon Hughes: In July 2014 the Executive Team of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was restructured and reduced from the Commissioner plus four Directors to the Commissioner plus three Directors. As a part of the restructure, the Remuneration Committee of the ICO’s non-executive Management Board reviewed the salaries of the remaining Directors and made recommendations to the Commissioner based on the changes to individual Director’s responsibilities that resulted from the restructure. The mean percentage increase was 11.7% but as a result of the restructure the overall spend on Executive salaries has been reduced. The ICO is subject to the 1% public sector pay cap but it is the ICO’s intention to focus the money available under the cap on those staff who will not benefit from the buyout of contractual progression, providing a pay increase of 3% for most of these staff.

Courts: Buildings

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Answer of 13 January 2015 to Question 217622, what the resource requirements are for each planned stage of the court reform programme; what the planned (a) start and (b) finish time is for each stage of the programme; and what the planned staff allocation is for each planned stage of the programme.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Planning for the stages of the programme, which spans five years, is underway and will be subject to ongoing refinement through the mobilisation phase up to Summer 2015. The resource requirement for these stages has not yet been finalised and will be developed as part of the ongoing planning.

Legal Aid Scheme

Rebecca Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much in legal aid claims was paid to Leigh Day in 2013-14.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The net payment to Leigh Day in the 2013/14 financial year was £529,559.30. This payment covers all work undertaken by the firm under legal aid. The payment made will be offset by recoupment on successful cases where the opponent has paid the costs. Legal aid is a vital part of our justice system but we must ensure it is sustainable for those who need it, for those who provide legal services as part of it and for the taxpayer, who ultimately pays for it. When we began the process of reform England and Wales had one of the most expensive legal aid systems in the world at around £2 billion a year. We have made tough choices to make the necessary savings whilst still ensuring legal aid remained available where people were most in need of a lawyer.

Court Orders: Grandparents

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2015 to Question 223614, how many such applications by grandparents for child arrangement orders were successful in each of those financial years; and how many such orders were breached in each of those financial years.

Simon Hughes: Details of the number of applications by grandparents for child arrangement orders which were successful in each of those financial years and how many such orders were breached can only be obtained by manually checking every case file which can only be done at disproportionate costs. The Children Act 1989 makes the welfare of the child the paramount consideration when the court determines any question with respect to the child’s upbringing. The terms of any order made may not therefore reflect what was sought in the application.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Voting Behaviour

Ian Paisley: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission will increase its target for voter increase.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission sets targets for increasing the number of people registered to vote, rather than increasing turnout.The Commission has set a target of 1 million additions to electoral registers in Great Britain, 10,000 additions in Northern Ireland and 100,000 additional overseas voters during the period of its public awareness campaign for the May elections May.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2014 to Question 216723, which local electoral registration officers in England and Wales will not publish registers until after 1 December 2015.

Mr Gary Streeter: As part of the data collection activity for the Electoral Commission’s recent report on individual electoral registration 20 EROs said they were delaying publication of their 1 December 2014 registers. However, this may not be the total number as others may have delayed publication without informing the Commission (which they were not required to).

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which 10 local authorities had the greatest proportional drop in electoral registration between 2013 and 2014.

Mr Gary Streeter: The ten authorities that had the largest proportional drop in their registered electorate between February/March and December 2014 are listed in table 5 of the Commission’s report published on 24 February 2015, which is available on its website.http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/182375/Analysis-of-the-December-2014-electoral-registers-in-England-and-Wales.pdf

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how much the Electoral Commission plans to spend on television advertising to encourage registration; and how it monitors the effectiveness of such campaigns.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission’s budget for the production of its television advert ahead of the elections in May 2015 is £263,961, and its budget for purchasing television advertising space is £1,506,733.The Electoral Commission uses Government Communication Service guidance on communication evaluation – which provides a model for best practise across the public sector - to inform the evaluation of its public awareness campaigns. The overall target for additions to electoral registers in Great Britain during the Commission’s TV campaign is one million.However, given the nature of the format it is impossible to directly attribute voter registration applications and additions to the electoral register to television advertising.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what representations the Electoral Commission has received about monitoring and improving household canvasses from (a) hon. Members and (b) other bodies and individuals.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission is regularly in communication with a wide range of stakeholders, including (a) Members of Parliament and (b) other bodies and individuals, about a variety of issues relating to electoral registration.Details of meetings held by Chair and Chief Executive can be found on the Commission’s website, www.electoralcommission.org.uk

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the cost per registration of 16 and 17 year olds who are encouraged to register primarily through (a) television adverts and (b) Bite the Ballot school visits.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has made no comparative assessment of the cost-per-registration of 16 and 17 year olds in these two areas given the very different nature of the activity.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what research, actions and advice the Electoral Commission undertook to ensure that (a) students and (b) people living in Houses of Multiple Occupation and other mobile groups did not fall off the electoral register in the run up to Individual Electoral Registration; and what assessment the Commission has made of the success of such actions.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission provides comprehensive guidance to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to support them in maintaining accurate and complete electoral registers. The guidance specifically addresses how EROs can target students and identify residents living in houses of multiple occupation.The Commission also provides a range of public engagement resources and templates that can be adapted locally, some of which have been designed to help EROs target specific groups such as students.The Commission’s has published an analysis of the December registers in England and Wales, which can be found at: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/182375/Analysis-of-the-December-2014-electoral-registers-in-England-and-Wales.pdf. This analysis illustrates the challenges of registering students at their term-time address, and the report sets out what action has already been undertaken and what more will continue to be done to target students.In light of the analysis of the December registers, the Commission has added an additional strand of activity to its public awareness plans make clear to students that they need to register at their term-time address if they wish to vote in their university constituency.The Commission has also been working with the NUS, the Association of Colleges, Universities UK and other bodies to promote voter registration with students and to encourage registration drives on university and college campuses.To supplement the work being carried out locally by EROs to work with houses in multiple occupation, the Commission has developed partnerships with a number of housing groups and associations to use their communication channels to promote voter registration.The Commission will continue to monitor progress with the transition to individual electoral registration and will report in June 2015 on the state of the registers used at the May polls.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what advice the Electoral Commission gave to Electoral Registration Officers on (a) maximising the registration of home movers and (b) sending voter registration forms to all households.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission provides comprehensive guidance to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to support them in maintaining accurate and complete electoral registers. This guidance sets out the actions EROs should take to identify potential new electors, such as by making use of local data - including property databases - and partnership work. The Commission also provides a range of public engagement resources and templates that can be adapted locally, some of which are specifically designed to help EROs target home movers. Additionally, to supplement the work being carried out by EROs, the Commission has developed partnerships with a number of organisations that home movers are likely to come into contact with - such as mortgage advisors - to use their communication channels to promote voter registration.In 2014, Household Enquiry Forms (HEFs) – which are designed to identify who is living at a property and eligible to register so that the ERO can invite them to register to vote – were only required to be sent to properties where no electors were registered, or where the ERO believed there may still be other people living at the address who were not registered.This means that home-movers have not been captured as effectively as they would have been during a typical annual canvass where all households would receive a form. The processes followed in 2014 were unique in this regard; canvass activity in 2015 and all subsequent years will involve sending household enquiry forms to all properties to check who is resident at an address and to identify new electors who can subsequently be invited to register, and carrying out follow up activity as required.To address this gap, the Commission has strongly recommended that all EROs write to all households in their area ahead of the May 2015 polls to check that they have accurate information on who is registered at each address and to prompt those who are not yet registered to apply now. The Commission has welcomed the provision of additional funding by the Cabinet Office, which has helped EROs to do this.The Commission has provided guidance to help EROs carry out this activity, and also developed and made available a template ‘household notification letter’ that they could use. The Commission has also run online paid-for-search advertising to support this activity.All EROs have confirmed that they have been or will be carrying out this activity or other comprehensive activity which seeks to address the issues identified by the Commission’s analysis of the 1 December registers, which are set out in full in the report which was published on 24 February and is available at: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/182375/Analysis-of-the-December-2014-electoral-registers-in-England-and-Wales.pdf. Early feedback from EROs where the activity is now well advanced has indicated that it has had a positive impact on boosting the number of registration applications received.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has sufficient data to recommend whether the end of the transition to individual electoral registration should be brought forward to December 2015.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it will be collecting data from Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) on the registers in force for the May 2015 elections. The Electoral Commission is working with Cabinet Office, electoral management software suppliers and EROs to improve the reliability of this data.The data, in addition to information already collected, will inform the Commission’s June 2015 assessment on whether the end of the transition to individual electoral registration can be brought forward to December 2015.The Commission’s February 2015 report states that without reliable data it is unlikely that the Commission would be able to recommend in any circumstances that the end of the transition to individual electoral registration should be brought forward to December 2015.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what interim assessments the Electoral Commission has made of the accuracy of the data on registration rates collected in the run-up to the introduction of individual electoral registration; and what procedures were in place to enable concerns about that data to be raised.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the main source of reliable information on registration rates have been the Commission’s own reports on the accuracy and completeness of the electoral registers. The most recent report was published in July 2014 and is available on the Commission’s website, here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/169889/Completeness-and-accuracy-of-the-2014-electoral-registers-in-Great-Britain.pdfThe household surveying methodology for these studies and the analysis conducted on the findings are robust. The findings were also recently verified by a separate study using census data which found, for the same electoral registers, similar levels of accuracy and completeness as the household survey.In addition, the Office for National Statistics annually collects and publishes the number of entries on the 1 December electoral registers. The Office for National Statistics checks any apparent anomalies in the data with the relevant Electoral Registration Officers.

Electoral Register: Devon

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the reasons for the recent increase in voter registration in East Devon.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission’s recently published report notes that the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for East Devon attributed the increase in the local electorate to the success of making door to door visits to non-responding properties and individuals. This was the first time such visits had been carried out across the area since 2010. It should also be noted that while East Devon recorded one of the largest proportionate increases in register size in December 2014, it also saw one of the largest falls in February 2014 which made it more likely to record a higher increase in December 2014.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the local authorities which did not take sufficient action to conduct a household canvass in 2014 did not take sufficient action to conduct a household canvass in a previous year.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission is not aware of any local authority that did not take all necessary steps as set out in law – including making personal visits to non-responding properties – in relation to the 2014 individual electoral registration write-out and canvass.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, when the Electoral Commission first knew of the problems with the registration software used by Electoral Registration Officers; and what steps the Commission has taken to overcome those problems.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission report on the transition to individual electoral registration, published on 24 February, set out the problems encountered with the electoral management software (EMS) systems used by Electoral Registration Officers, when collecting data about the 1 December registers. These problems do not relate to either the online registration system or the wider functionality of the local EMS systems.The Electoral Commission became aware of this problem once the first data returns were submitted by Electoral Registration Officers shortly after 1 December.Since that date the Electoral Commission has worked closely with the Cabinet Office and directly with electoral management software suppliers to refine the reporting function within their systems. There have been substantial improvements in the data returns, but further work is still needed to ensure the data provided in May is more reliable. The Commission is continuing to work with the Cabinet Office and software suppliers on this.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the effects of its handling of the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration on (a) public perception of the integrity of the Commission and (b) public confidence in the Commission.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission publishes regular reports on the delivery of Individual Electoral Registration (IER). These reports include information on how the Commission has delivered its responsibilities to relation to IER.The next of these reports will be published in June. The Commission’s statutory report on the elections taking place in May 2015 will include post-election public opinion survey results on satisfaction with the election process and electoral registration.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what progress the Electoral Commission has made in differentiating in online registration between people who are already registered and people newly on register.

Mr Gary Streeter: In its report published on 24 February 2015, the Electoral Commission stated that 80% of the approximately 2 million registration applications made since December 2014 were made online. However, some of these may have been duplicates.The Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office sought to collect data on duplications across all applications up to December but the dataset was not reliable enough to report on it.The Commission and the Cabinet Office intend to collect improved data on duplications in May.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what representations the Electoral Commission made to (a) the Cabinet Office and (b) other bodies on the issue of the accuracy of the 2014 electoral register during the course of its compilation.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission is regularly in communication with a wide range of stakeholders, including (a) the Cabinet Office, and (b) other bodies, about a variety of issues relating to electoral registration. The Commission’s engagement with the Cabinet Office includes continued membership of their Electoral Registration Transformation Programme Board. The Electoral Commission has provided comprehensive written guidance and accompanying resources for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to support them in maintaining accurate and complete electoral registers. The Commission has also continued to work with EROs to monitor and support them in delivering their plans to address the particular registration challenges in their local area.

Ministry of Defence

Libya

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library (a) a copy of the risk assessment carried out by his Department in relation to the choice of Bassingbourn camp for the general purpose training of Libyan soldiers and (b) the steps taken to address each of the risks identified; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 15 January 2015



I have placed a copy of the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Human Rights Assessment for General Purpose Force Training in the Library of the House. Risks specific to the UK locations assessed for that training are not recorded on a single document but were considered within the risks of training in the UK. These risks were managed before and after the training programme and supplemented by the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Human Rights Assessment.Bassingbourn offered the required facilities for training and did not affect wider UK military training. As part of the preparation of Bassingbourn for training, security improvements were carried out, such as fencing off areas of the camp from local residences. The Army also held rehearsal meetings at Bassingbourn to identify and coordinate the mitigation of risks, including with the Home Office and the police.The overall process of managing risks associated with General Purpose Force training was conducted through meetings of officials between Whitehall departments on a very regular basis, in which risk was a specific item on the agenda. This included consultation with subject matter experts in each department, the police, the Libyan Government through the UK and Libya embassies and the UK Defence Advisory and Training Team.

LIBOR: Fines

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding from LIBOR fines was distributed to veterans' charities in each (a) region and (b) constituent part of the UK in each year since 2012.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 26 January 2015



Information held centrally by the Ministry of Defence on the distribution of the £35 million LIBOR Fund and the £40 million Veterans Accommodation Fund is provided in the attached documents. Not all recipients of funding are veterans' charities and information on the £35 million LIBOR Fund is collated by country rather than region.In addition, it is likely that veterans have benefited from LIBOR funds distributed by other Government Departments. However, this would be at disproportionate cost.  



 LIBOR Fund
(Excel SpreadSheet, 40 KB)




Veterans Accommodation Fund
(Word Document, 36 KB)

Armed Forces: Training

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spends on training members of each of the Armed Forces each year.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual per unit cost is of training members of each of the Armed Forces.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on training in each of the last three financial years.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 10 February 2015



The Ministry of Defence undertakes a wide range of training activity; from phase 1 and phase 2 training for new recruits to complex joint exercises with other nations to specialist training for specific trades and skills requirements, such as nuclear engineering. The costs for these activities encompass nearly all of the Defence Lines of Development and can not be broken out without incurring disproportionate cost.

Ukraine

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information he has as to whether Saxon armoured vehicles exported to Ukraine will have arms mounted on them by Ukroboronprom or any other Ukrainian organisation.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence supplied the first batch of 20 Saxon vehicles to the Ukrainian Government. The vehicles were delivered unarmed and any subsequent decision to arm those vehicles is a matter for the Ukrainian Government.

Afghanistan

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many cases of non-compliance relating to the return of dangerous goods from Afghanistan there have been in the last 12 months.

Mr Mark Francois: There have been no recorded incidents of non-compliances relating to the return of dangerous goods from Afghanistan within the last twelve months.However, during that period, staff at Bastion and Kandahar identified 40 instances of potential non-compliance at the time of acceptance checks; all were corrected before the consignments entered the transport chain.

Public Expenditure

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what operations vote (a) Department Expenditure Limit and (b) Annually Managed Expenditure outturn by subhead was in (i) near cash and (ii) non-cash terms for the financial years 2010-11 to 2013-14.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Supplementary Estimate Provision of Defence Capability vote (a) Department Expenditure Limit and (b) Annually Managed Expenditure provision by subhead was in (i) near-cash and (ii) non-cash terms in each financial year from 2010-11.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Main Estimate Operations vote (a) Department Expenditure Limit and (b) Annually Managed Expenditure provision was by subhead in (i) near-cash and (ii) non-cash terms in in each financial year from 2010-11.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Supplementary Estimate Operations vote (a) Department Expenditure Limit and (b) Annually Managed Expenditure provision by subhead was in (i) near-cash and (ii) non-cash terms in each financial year from 2010-11.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Provision of Defence Capability vote (a) Department Expenditure Limit and (b) Annually Managed Expenditure outturn by subhead was in (i) near-cash and (ii) non-cash terms in each financial year from 2010-11.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Main Estimate Provision of Defence Capability vote (a) Department Expenditure Limit and (b) Annually Managed Expenditure provision by subhead was in (i) near-cash and (ii) non-cash terms in each financial year from 2010-11.

Michael Fallon: The information for the years requested is available in the MOD Main and Supplementary Estimates; and the Annual Report and Accounts, which have been laid in the House and are available at the below links. In this context, the term “ringfenced” is broadly similar to “non-cash” and the term “non-ringfenced” is broadly similar to “near-cash” Main Estimates 2010-11 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/247983/0269.pdf 2011-12 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205103/Main_parliamentary_supply_estimates_2011-12.pdf 2012-13 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205092/Main_parliamentary_supply_estimates_2012-13.pdf 2013-14 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/main-supply-estimates-2013-14 2014-15 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/306926/main_supply_estimates_2014_2015_web.pdf Supplementary Estimates 2010-11 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/247508/0790.pdf 2011-12 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/247144/1755.pdf 2012-13 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246841/0894.pdf 2013-14 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279575/supplementary_estimates_and_new_estimates_2013_14_120214_correction.pdf 2014-15 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/405330/supplementary_estimates_2014-15_web_with_corrections_slip.pdf Outturns Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2013-14 For the year ended 31 March 2014 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/381341/MOD_AR14_print_version.pdf Core Table 7.3 Contains Retrospective Parliamentary Outturn Tables covering the full spending round

Afghanistan

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value is of military equipment (a) returned to the UK, (b) destroyed in Afghanistan and (c) gifted to the Afghan government since the withdrawal of British troops from that country.

Mr Mark Francois: The information is not available in the format requested because not all Op HERRICK equipment has yet been processed. Once this process of reconciliation has been completed, I will write to the right hon. Member.

Information Warfare

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the new role will be of the 77th Brigade; and how many troops will be involved in that initiative.

Mr Mark Francois: 77th Brigade is the new name for the Security Assistance Group. Its continuing role includes: Providing support, in conjunction with other Government agencies, to efforts to build stability overseas and to wider defence diplomacy and overseas engagement; Leading on Special Influence Methods, including providing information on activities, key leader engagement, operations security and media engagement; Military capacity-building at various stages in the cycle of conflict, through mentoring, support and training, including providing training support to Force Elements to enable delivery of security assistance tasks. There will be 440 military posts in 77th Brigade.

Armed Forces: Training

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase the number of people qualified and experienced in munitions and explosives.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence provides a wide range of training and education to meet our demand for suitably qualified and experienced personnel specialising in ordnance, munitions and explosives, including specialist courses run by the Defence Academy and military schools, together with apprentice and graduate schemes. We are also working with other organisations in the ordnance, munitions and explosives sector to understand our long term requirements and invest throughout the sector, including through joint training events.

Single Source Regulations Office

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he requests the Single Source Regulation Office to perform additional analysis, on the basis of information it has received or generated, but which it is not required to perform, who pays for this analysis; and what estimate he has made of the costs of that analysis to his Department.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Defence Reform Act (DRA) 2014 grants the Ministry of Defence (MOD) the power to request the Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) to undertake additional analysis of the standard reports provided to it by industry. To date, the MOD has not made any such request to the SSRO.Since such work would fall outside the core responsibilities of the SSRO, the MOD would be required to pay the SSRO for any additional costs arising. It is too soon after the implementation of the DRA to make any worthwhile estimate of the potential costs to the MOD.

Colombia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2014 to Question 211346, in what ways is the issue of human rights closely examined before any military assistance to Colombia is approved; and at what level or rank is this examination conducted.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 02 March 2015



The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has clear guidelines in place to ensure that our international obligations are considered and honoured before military assistance to Colombia takes place. This includes carrying out Overseas Security and Justice Assessments (OSJA) where applicable and liaising with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to ensure that MOD's activity is in line with our international obligations. This examination is conducted at various levels and ranks in accordance with the OSJA and departmental policy.

Military Aid

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2014 to Question 211346, what expertise and advice the UK has provided on international humanitarian law and human rights during military operations at (a) seminars and conferences and (b) other events since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 02 March 2015



The Government has raised its concerns about the issue of human rights with the Colombian Government on a number of occasions and welcomes the reassurances we have received. As part of its role in this process, the Ministry of Defence has, since 2010: sent a senior officer to Bogota to participate in an international military law conference; sent a Royal Navy legal expert to speak at an International Conference on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law; and, contributed to a UN led team that travelled to Colombia with the intent of influencing strategic change on human rights issues at the highest levels.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) RAF Regiment, (b) Royal Marines and (c) Regular Army personnel have been made redundant in each of the last five years; and how many such personnel (i) have been re-hired on full-time reserve service contracts and (ii) have joined the Reserves.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence began collecting centrally information on the numbers made redundant in October 2011. Of those made redundant, the information on those who then joined the Reserve Forces is readily available post - 1 April 2012 for the Army Reserve and post - 1 October 2012 for the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marine Reserve, Royal Fleet Reserve and Royal Air Force Reserve. Armed Forces personnel who leave and then join the Reserves or the Full Time Reserve Service do not necessarily do so within the same Financial Year (FY). The following table records the number of Armed Forces personnel who left the RAF Regiment, Royal Marines or the Regular Army on redundancy during each FY or part FY from 1 October 2011 to 31 December 2014 and the number who then joined the Reserves or the Full-Time Reserve Service (FTRS). YEARSERVICE ARMYROYAL MARINESROYAL AIR FORCE REGIMENT(includes the Operational Support Regiment)1 OCTOBER 2011 – 31 MARCH 2012 Number Made Redundant600~~Who Then Joined:- Reserve ForcesOf Which FTRS 5010~-1 APRIL 2012 – 31 MARCH 2013 Number Made Redundant2,06010-Who Then Joined:- Reserve ForcesOf Which FTRS 17010--1 APRIL 2013 – 31 MARCH 2014 Number Made Redundant4,060--Who Then Joined:- Reserve ForcesOf Which FTRS 39010--1 APRIL 2014 – 31 DECEMBER 2015 Number Made Redundant1,280--Who Then Joined:- Reserve ForcesOf Which FTRS 50--- Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. ~ denotes 5 or fewer. - denotes Zero. The Reserve Forces consist of Volunteer Reserves, Regular Reserves, Sponsored Reserves and Full Time Reserve Service.

Department for Work and Pensions

Work Capability Assessment

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has set any targets for Maximum to deal with the backlog of legacy work capability assessments queries which will be transferred from Atos on 2 March 2015.

Mr Mark Harper: Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA), operated by MAXIMUS, has not been allocated specific targets in relation to the clearance of legacy work.  The Department has put in place a strong contract management and performance monitoring structure to ensure a step change in delivery is achieved, both in terms of delivering volumes and improvements to the service.

Cold Weather Payments: Peterborough

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Peterborough constituency received a cold weather payment in the last 12 months for which records are available; and if will he make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Cold Weather Payment scheme is administered at weather station level rather than any other standard GB geography such as constituency level. The coverage area for each weather station is determined by the Met Office which assesses the most appropriate weather station for each postcode area. Cold weather payments are triggered when the average temperature recorded at the weather station has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0oC or below over seven consecutive days. The constituency of Peterborough covers all or part of the postcode areas PE1-PE8 and PE13. Postcode areas PE1 to PE8 are covered by Wittering weather station. There have been no cold weather payments paid in this area in the last 12 months (to 27th February 2015). PE13 postcodes are covered by Marham weather station. Qualifying individuals living in this area will have received a payment in respect of a seven-day period of cold weather from 17th-23rd January 2015. No other payments were triggered in Marham in the last 12 months. Marham weather station covers the postcode areas of CB6-CB7, IP24-IP28, PE12-PE14 and PE30-PE38. We estimate that 23,800 payments were made in this area as a whole in respect of the January 2015 trigger. We are not able to break this figure down to a lower level. Notes 1. The number of payments made is not necessarily the total number of individuals benefitting from a Cold Weather Payment. Any individuals making a joint claim for one of the qualifying benefits, such as a couple living together, will receive one payment between them rather than one payment each. 2. Individuals in receipt of Pension Credit are usually eligible for Cold Weather Payments. In addition those on Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit may be eligible for Cold Weather Payments if they are in receipt of certain disability benefits, have a disabled child, or a child under the age of five. 3. The number of payments given here is an estimate as information on the exact number of payments made is not readily available. These figures are produced by determining the volume of eligible recipients in each weather station area at the start of the winter season and using these figures throughout the winter to estimate payments and expenditure based on the actual triggers recorded.

Universal Credit

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of universal credit claimants likely to face hardship as a result of the seven-day waiting period before new claimants are paid.

Mr Mark Harper: Holding answer received on 02 March 2015



 This information is not available. If a claimant is in urgent financial need they will be able to claim a UC New Claim Advance.

Incapacity Benefit

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will commission research into the reasons why the largest category of people transferred from incapacity benefit to the fit-to-work group have been people with mental health issues.

Mr Mark Harper: We have no plans to commission such research.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will commission research into the effect of benefit sanctions on the (a) mental and (b) physical health of people on jobseeker's allowance or the work-related activity group of employment and support allowance.

Esther McVey: As with all of our policies, we will keep the operation of the sanctions system under review to ensure that it continues to operate effectively and as fairly as possible. We continue to make improvements to the sanctions system as committed to in the Oakley Review. The Government has gone further than the scope of the Review, for example, we are reviewing all claimant communications and sanctions processes, not only for those Jobseekers Allowance claimants who come under the remit of the Review, but all Jobseekers Allowance claimants and also all Employment Support Allowance claimants. We will continue to publish sanctions statistics on a quarterly basis.

Children: Maintenance

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's most recent estimate is of the number of Child Support Agency cases within each segment of the planned case closure programme in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland.

Steve Webb: The most recent estimates of the number of Child Support Agency cases within each segment of the case closure programme are:  SEGMENT Segment 1Segment 2Segment 3Segment 4Segment 5TotalEngland137,90048,60021,900317,000106,200631,700Scotland15,0004,0002,10031,60010,80063,400Wales10,3003,2001,50022,4007,50044,900NI3002001008004001,700Other4001003005002001,400Total164,00056,00025,800372,200125,100743,100 Notes: 1. These are indicative estimates based on the case load as at 31 January 2015 and are subject to change due to cases continually moving segments.2. Northern Ireland cases include cases managed by the CSA in Great Britain where the Parent with Care or Non Resident Parent lives in Northern Ireland. This does not include cases managed by the Northern Ireland Child Maintenance Enforcement Division (CMED).3. Other includes those that are abroad or where insufficient information is held to enable classification.4. Volumes shown in the table above represent all live cases that were eligible for case closure and had not been closed as at 31 January 2015.5. Figures rounded to the nearest 100 and may not sum due to rounding.

Remploy

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2015 to Question 224963, on which dates he or his Ministerial colleagues have met a former Remploy employee since May 2010; and when any further such meetings are planned.

Esther McVey: As the Department with responsibility for Remploy, DWP Ministers have met with former Remploy employees. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of such meetings. No further meetings with former Remploy employees are planned at present.

Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2015 to Question 224791, what topics he discussed with staff during his visit to Preston Benefit Centre on 11 April 2014.

Esther McVey: Further to my previous response, discussions took place between DWP staff and Secretary of State as he toured the office, no details are held regarding content.

Universal Credit

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people making an application for universal credit are not registered on the real-time information system.

Mr Mark Harper: All Universal Credit claims - whether relating to the employed, self-employed or unemployed - which are successfully made are then registered on HMRC systems. Any PAYE reported in real time by employers in respect of these is then passed to Universal Credit systems. The majority of employed Universal Credit claimants will have their earnings reported via PAYE, and over 99% of all such employments are now being reported in real-time. For the minority whose earnings are not reported through PAYE (for example the self-employed) we have developed processes to ensure they can self-report their earnings.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food and Environment Research Agency: Thirsk

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking through the Food and Environmental Research Agency deal to support businesses in Thirsk and Malton.

Dan Rogerson: The establishment of the Food and Environmental Research Agency (Fera) joint venture will bring new investment of £14.5m and, it is anticipated, create 50 new high value science jobs. This will boost the National Agri-Food Innovation Campus York, where Fera is based, and which is already working with the Local Enterprise Partnership to bring more business and employment to the site. All of this will help support the local economy in Thirsk and Malton.

Dangerous Dogs Exemptions Schemes (England and Wales) Order 2015

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she consulted with (a) the British Veterinary Association, (b) the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, (c) Dogs Trust, (d) Blue Cross and (e) the Kennel Club in drawing up the provisions of the Dangerous Dogs Exemptions Schemes (England and Wales) Order 2015; and if she will make a statement.

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the provisions of the Dangerous Dogs Exemptions Schemes (England and Wales) Order 2015 on the owners of exempted dogs intending to go to university or who serve in the armed forces; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Dangerous Dogs Exemption Schemes (England and Wales) Order 2015 recognises that owning and keeping a prohibited dog is a significant responsibility. These dogs are bred for fighting and Parliament has agreed that there should be restrictions and conditions on their ownership in order to protect public safety. The court plays an important role in determining whether a prohibited dog is a danger to public safety and must take into account whether the person intending to be in charge of the dog is a fit and proper person. The expectation of Parliament is that the person approved by the court will have day-to-day responsibility for the dog. There is a limit on how long a prohibited dog can be kept away from its home under the supervision of the person approved by the court. This ensures that the dog is kept in suitable accommodation at premises known to the police and is under the supervision of the court-approved person at all times.   A public consultation exercise on a package of measures aimed at promoting more responsible dog ownership ran from 23 April to 15 June 2012. This included aspects of the 2015 Order including provisions to enable seized suspected prohibited dogs not considered by the police to be a danger to public safety to be returned to their owner, subject to conditions, pending a court judgment on the fate of the dog. These provisions were widely supported. The keepership elements the 2015 Order return the law more closely to the position agreed by Parliament before the judgment in R (Sandhu) v Isleworth Crown Court [2012] and address issues of public safety. The police were consulted on these provisions. Dogs Trust was consulted on the changes relating to insurance of owners of prohibited dogs.   In its response to the EFRA Committee pre-legislative scrutiny report of the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill, the Government made clear it would be bringing forward an Order to prescribe the limited circumstances when transfer of keepership of a prohibited dog is permitted. The issue was also covered in the fact sheets accompanying the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Bill during its passage through Parliament.

Climate Change

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which organisations made reports in the first round of reporting under the Adaptation Reporting Power; and which of those organisations have informed her Department that they will not be reporting in the second round of reporting under that power.

Dan Rogerson: All the organisations which provided reports under the first round of the Adaption Reporting Power are listed in Annex A of Defra’s “2013 Strategy for exercising the Adaptation Reporting Power and list of priority reporting authorities”. The reports are published on the GOV.UK website at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/adaptation-reporting-power-received-reports.   All of the organisations which are participating in the second round of reporting are listed on the GOV.UK website in the document “List of organisations which were invited to participate in the second round.” This can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/adapting-to-climate-change-2013-strategy-for-exercising-the-adaptation-reporting-power. The list includes all of the organisations that participated in the first round of reporting plus a number of new reporters. Of the 111 organisations invited to report, 101 have declared that they will submit voluntary Adaptation Reporting Power reports to Government.

Floods: Coastal Areas

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will publish the assessments it has prepared of the potential effects of an East Coast storm surge on agriculture, food supply, transport infrastructure, critical infrastructure and loss of life.

Dan Rogerson: Such assessments which are used for central government and Local Authority planning purposes contain officially sensitive information which renders them unsuitable for publication. For example, the Defra assessment contains sensitive information concerning critical national infrastructure.

Thames Flood Barrier

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the correspondence between the (a) Environment Agency and (b) Committee on Climate Change and her Department and between the Committee on Climate Change and the Environment Agency on the Thames Barrier from November 2013 to date.

Dan Rogerson: The Department and the Environment Agency do not currently hold a record of official correspondence between the officials of Defra, the Environment Agency and the Committee on Climate Change on this matter.

Flood Control

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the conclusions of the Environment Agency's long-term investment scenarios were refelcted in funding decisions taken as part of the 2014 National Infrastructure Plan's six-year flood defence grant-in-aid capital programme.

Dan Rogerson: Long-Term Investment Scenarios (LTIS) and the six-year programme were developed by the Environment Agency and published on 2 December 2014. LTIS gives a high level and long term strategic picture of future investment needs using national level data. It cannot support programme level decisions because it does not contain sufficient detail to make such decisions. In contrast, decisions on allocation of funding to individual schemes in the six-year programme are made based on more detailed processes, guidance and local data.

Home Office

Radicalism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the success of efforts to reduce the potential radicalisation of British Muslims in the UK.

James Brokenshire: Work to stop people being drawn into extremist and terrorist activity remainsa priority and is focused on: limiting the circulation of terrorist and extremist material on the internet, supporting more resilient communities and ensuring individuals at risk of being drawn into terrorism are provided with the support they need.In March 2014 we launched a new tool for the public to report terrorist material to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). Public referrals have tripled since it launched. Working in partnership with industry, the CTIRU refers unlawful terrorist content to them for removal. Since February 2010, CTIRU has secured the removal of over 75,000 pieces of unlawful terrorist content with 75% of this total removed sinceDecember 2013. Radicalisation does not only happen online. We continue to disrupt propagandists who seek to radicalise vulnerable people directly and counter their narrative. The police and agencies routinely take action against those who promote terrorism under our existing terrorist legislation. In the year ending 30 June 2014, there were 239 persons arrested for terrorism related offences. We also exclude foreign nationals from the UK on the grounds of unacceptable behaviour. Training on awareness of radicalisation now includes specific advice in relation to travel to Syria and Iraq. We have trained 130,000 frontline staff who may come into contact with potential travellers and run courses equipping parents to identify risks and have the confidence to seek support should they need it. The police, local authorities and all sectors included in the Prevent duty have a vital role to play in responding to concerns that individuals are being drawn into terrorism and extremism. Where specific concerns have been raised and individuals consent, the multi-agency Channel programme provides tailored support to people identified as at risk of radicalisation.

Asylum

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, to which Home Office Reporting Centre further submissions under rule 353 of the Immigration Rules were initially made in each of the last seven years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has used Reporting Centres for further submission at Eaton/ Becket House (London), Electric/ Lunar House (Croydon), Frontier House (Folkestone), General Building (Cardiff) , Heol Pentrefelin (Swansea), Sanford House (Solihull), Loughborough Reporting Centre (Loughborough), Dallas Court (Manchester), Reliance House/ The Capital (Liverpool), Waterside Court (Leeds), Vulcan House (Sheffield), Northumbria House (Tyneside), Festival Court (Glasgow) and Drumkeen House (Belfast).

Asylum

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of further submissions made under rule 353 of the Immigration Rules were (a) accepted as fresh claims and (b) rejected with no right of appeal in each year for which figures are available.

James Brokenshire: The information requested is as follows: a)   YearFresh ClaimsProportion20011316%200243%2003113%2004224%2005383%2006684%20071154%20083075%20091,0668%20101,2544%20111,1008%20127987%20135586%20144134%Total 5,767b)  Year Rejected no ROAProportion2001 1316%2002 3122%2003 8025%2004 14928%2005 24020%2006 44726%2007 92233%2008 2,31637%2009 4,62133%2010 9,53433%2011 7,45751%2012 5,54650%2013 4,47445%2014 4,02642%Total 39,856

Asylum

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) grants and (b) refusals of international protection her Department made in cases where further submissions under rule 353 of the Immigration Rules were accepted as fresh claims for each of the last seven years.

James Brokenshire: The information requested is as follows: a) Grants on protection grounds2008161200944120103612011684201275920134012014119Total2,926   Grants non protection grounds200878620091,35720102,71920112,39120121,71920131,1652014562  Total10,699   Grand Total 13,625 b) Refusals as fresh claims200830720091,06420101,25220111,100201279820135582014413  Total5,492   Refusals as further submissions20082,31620094,62120109,53420117,45720125,54620134,47420144,026  Total37,974   Grand Total 43,466

Asylum: Appeals

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2015 to Question 218892, what average length of time it takes for her Department to grant a visa after a decision is taken not to appeal a decision of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 02 March 2015



The information requested covers a broad range of case types and is not held centrally for in country cases. It could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. For international appeals the average time for allowed appeals to be implemented from January to December 2014 was 43 calendar days. Since 2006, the average time has been 69 days with a peak of 92 days in 2009.The Home Office has 14 calendar days to consider whether to appeal an allowed First-tier or Upper Tribunal decision (although this can be longer in some Upper Tribunal decisions where the last avenue to appeal is direct to the Court of Appeal) for in country cases and 28 calendar days for international (out of country) cases. The relevant unit responsible for implementation will be notified once a decision has been made not to appeal.

Drugs: Misuse

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that new psychoactive substances identified by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction are monitored by the Forensic Warning System.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many new psychoactive substances have been identified by the Forensic Early Warning System in each of the last four years.

Lynne Featherstone: The number of new psychoactive substances, not previously encountered either in the UK or at EU level, identified by the Home Office Forensic Early Warning System (FEWS) from January 2011 until March 2014 is as follows : January 2011- March 2012 -17April 2012- March 2013 -10April 2013- March 2014- 4Further detailed analysis, results and other key findings are published in each of the FEWS Annual Report available at: www.gov.uk. Analysis for 2014/15, with reference to data held by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), will be completed shortly. Data from the EMCDDA is closely monitored. FEWS continues to identify and monitor the existence of NPS in the UK through its various collection plans including those substances first identified elsewhere in Europe and reported to the EMCDDA.

Counter-terrorism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many referrals her Department's Counter-Terrorism Referrals Unit has made to (a) Facebook, (b) Twitter, (c) Google and Youtube and (d) other websites or service providers in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the enquiries of the hon. Member for Chesterfield on behalf of Mr S Jackson, passed to her Department by the Prime Minister on 12 january 2015, reference JACK03010/03141925.

James Brokenshire: I wrote to the Hon. Member on 23 February 2015.

HM Treasury

Tax Evasion

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the names of individuals with whom HM Revenue and Customs has reached an out of court agreement to settle cases of tax evasion that came to light as a result of information from HSBC's Swiss branch; and what the amount of tax evaded was in each case.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can only name taxpayers in specific instances. The rules governing HMRC’s entitlement to publish details of deliberate defaulters are set out in Section 94 Finance Act 2009.

Tax Avoidance

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with (a) the Crown Prosecution Service, (b) the Attorney General, (c) HM Revenue and Customs and (d) the Financial Conduct Authority on the use by UK residents of the provisions of the European Savings Directive to avoid paying UK tax by opening anonymous bank accounts in jurisdictions abroad since 1 January 2015.

Mr David Gauke: The European Savings Directive has been in force since 2005. It is a mechanism for achieving tax compliance through either disclosure of investment income data to the tax jurisdiction of the individual concerned or (in limited circumstances) applying withholding tax at source as an alternative to information disclosure.

Inheritance Tax

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2015 to Question 223222, how many staff made up the specialist inheritance tax compliance teams in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Mr David Gauke: The number of full time equivalent staff in the specialist inheritance tax compliance teams for the last four years are:2014/15 1482013/14 1582012/13 1562011/12 153Prior to 2011/12 the teams were organised and structured in a different way and comparable figures are not available. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has improved the process it used to ensure compliance with inheritance tax law. This has increased the team's efficiency which is reflected in the number of staff deployed.

Tax Avoidance

Austin Mitchell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the legal costs and fines recovered from (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) KPMG, (c) Ernst & Young and (d) Deloitte after tax courts and tribunals have rejected tax avoidance schemes designed by those firms in each of the last five years.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has a very successful record of winning cases against avoidance schemes that taxpayers choose to litigate. They are successful in around 80% of these cases, and many taxpayers, of course, settle before reaching litigation. When successful, HMRC will request costs in appropriate cases. Under the normal court rules relating to costs, these are recovered from the litigant.   The Government has introduced the High Risk Promoters (Promoters of Tax Avoidance Schemes) legislation in Finance Act 2014 to tackle the small and persistent minority of promoters of tax avoidance schemes who display behaviours that are detrimental to the integrity of the tax system. The legislation enhances HMRC's ability to tackle promoters who commonly design, market and implement products which overwhelmingly do not work. It focuses on promoters who rely on non-cooperation with HMRC and may rely on concealment and mis-description of elements of their schemes to succeed. Such promoters must change their behaviour voluntarily or, if they do not do so, be subject to information powers which affect them, their intermediaries and their clients – meaning that promoters can be named and fined up to £1 million.

Tax Avoidance and Evasion

Mr William Bain: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in HM Revenue and Customs have been assigned to deal with (a) pursuing cases of tax evasion and (b) investigating tax avoidance schemes in each of the last four financial years.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) allocates resources in a flexible manner, so that it maximises performance.   Information on the structure and organisation of HM Revenue and Customs is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts

Tax Avoidance

Austin Mitchell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will appoint an independent commission to investigate claims about the roles of PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Deloitte in designing, selling and implementing tax avoidance schemes.

Mr David Gauke: PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Deloitte are members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales, a professional regulator. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is working with ICAEW and other professional regulators to strengthen their role in upholding professional standards.  In addition to this, the Government introduced the High Risk Promoters (Promoters of Tax Avoidance Schemes) legislation in Finance Act 2014 to tackle the small and persistent minority of promoters of tax avoidance schemes who display behaviours that are detrimental to the integrity of the tax system. The legislation enhances HMRC's ability to tackle promoters who commonly design, market and implement products which overwhelmingly do not work. It focuses on promoters who rely on non-cooperation with HMRC and may rely on concealment and mis-description of elements of their schemes to succeed. Such promoters must change their behaviour voluntarily or, if they do not do so, be subject to information powers which affect them, their intermediaries and their clients – meaning that promoters can be named and fined up to £1 million.

Money Laundering and Tax Evasion

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) discussions he had and (b) decisions were taken on tackling (i) money laundering and (ii) tax evasion at the meeting of G20 finance ministers in Istanbul in February 2014.

Mr David Gauke: G20 Finance Ministers committed to support the unprecedented actions agreed by Leaders at the 2014 Brisbane G20 Summit, to address money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion. On money laundering and terrorist financing, these actions include improving transparency of company ownership, to prevent the misuse of companies for illicit purposes; implementing the international standards on anti money laundering/counter terrorist financing and committing to greater international cooperation in this area; and taking steps to establish a new global standard in tax transparency, to combat tax evasion. The full text of the meeting communique can be found on the website of the Turkish G20 Presidency.

Government Departments: Pay

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost of off-payroll arrangements in government departments and their arm's length bodies was in each of the last five years.

Danny Alexander: Information regarding the total cost of off-payroll workers broken down by individual government departments and their arm’s length bodies is not held centrally.   Departmental spending on consultancy, which is one element of total spending on off-payroll workers, is collected by the Cabinet Office. Consultancy spending has reduced by almost three quarters over this Parliament, from £1.2 billion in 2009-10 to £316 million in 2013-14. This followed work to simplify and strengthen the management of consultancy expenditure across government.   Off-payroll workers play an important role in helping public sector organisations meet short term needs for specialist advice and interim services. It is essential that government employers are able to assure themselves that their higher paid contract workers and most senior staff are meeting their tax obligations.   New tighter rules governing ‘off-payroll’ appointments in central government were established in May 2012 when I, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, published the Review of the Tax Arrangements of Public Sector Appointees.   The recommendations of the Review mean that the most senior staff must go on the payroll, and departments are now able to seek assurance in relation to the tax arrangements of their long-term, high paid contractors.   The Treasury carried out an evaluation of compliance with the rules which was published on 11 March 2014. This revealed that departments sought assurance on the tax affairs of 1,940 of their contractors, and 125 contracts were terminated or ended and were referred to HMRC for further investigation as a result of these rules. The Treasury has also issued £1.5 million in fines in 2014 to a small number of departments who did not fully comply with the requirements of the guidance.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Energy: Prices

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the Rate of Return on Equity for each of the Distribution Network Operators under Distribution Price Control Review 5.

Matthew Hancock: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 25 February 2015.The correct answer should have been:

Ofgem are responsible for regulating the electricity Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) and the setting of the price control review. Ofgem’s latest estimate for the Rate of Return on Equity for each of the DNOs is in the attached table which covers the years 2010-11 to 2013-14. The last year of Distribution Price Control Review 5 (2014-15) is still on-going.   



Rate of Return on Equity for DNOs 2010-1 to 2013-4
(Excel SpreadSheet, 11.65 KB)

Matthew Hancock: Ofgem are responsible for regulating the electricity Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) and the setting of the price control review. Ofgem’s latest estimate for the Rate of Return on Equity for each of the DNOs is in the attached table which covers the years 2010-11 to 2013-14. The last year of Distribution Price Control Review 5 (2014-15) is still on-going.   



Rate of Return on Equity for DNOs 2010-1 to 2013-4
(Excel SpreadSheet, 11.65 KB)

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the oral contribution by the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye of 14 January 2015, Official Report, column 931, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the number of independent suppliers has trebled to 19 since 2010.

Matthew Hancock: I would like to update the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye.In May 2010 there were 7 independent companies supplying gas and/or electricity to households in Great Britain. Since 2010, thanks to the pro-competition, pro-consumer policies of this Government, as part of our long term economic plan, the number of independent suppliers has not just trebled, but almost quadrupled.The Domestic Energy Market Snapshot 31 October 2014, published by Energy UK, notes that the number of suppliers in the domestic market has reached an all-time high of 26 suppliers.http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication.html?task=file.download&id=5017

Wind Power

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2015 to Question 223251, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of households installing wind turbines.

Amber Rudd: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Solar Power

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2015 to Question 223250, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of households installing solar panels.

Amber Rudd: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cabinet Office

Spirits

Ian Paisley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the contribution of the domestic spirits industry to the economy of (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Domestic Spirits Industry
(PDF Document, 111.39 KB)

Spirits

Ian Paisley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs supported by the domestic spirits industry in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the UK.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Jobs in Spirits Industry
(PDF Document, 101.8 KB)

Science: Employment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) men and (b) women working in the (i) technology and (ii) engineering sector.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - People in Engineering
(PDF Document, 267.48 KB)

Public Sector: Mutual Societies

Lucy Powell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people who work in public sector mutuals.

Mr Francis Maude: There are over 100 public service mutuals in operation across the country. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/public-service-mutuals-new-approaches-to-finance.Cabinet Office does not collect its own figures on the number employed by such mutuals. However the July 2013 Boston Consultancy Group report Soft Finance, Hard Choices estimated that public service mutuals employed 35,000 staff and delivered £1.5bn worth of public services.

Meetings

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the minutes of the meetings of his Department's risk and resource security working group from 6 May 2010 to date.

Mr Oliver Letwin: I am not sure which group the question is referring to. It is not normal practice to publish the minutes of Government meetings.

Pay

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the salary is of the chief executive officer of his Department's Community Organising programme.

Mr Rob Wilson: The Cabinet Office does not employ a Chief Executive Officer for the Community Organisers programme.

Charities

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many inquiries into faith-based charities of each faith have been opened by the Charity Commission in each of the last three years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Chief Executive to reply. 



Charity Commission Letter to Member
(PDF Document, 136.77 KB)

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Public Libraries : Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on plans to reduce funding for Libraries NI in 2015-16.

Mr Edward Vaizey: There have been no discussions between the DCMS and the Northern Ireland Executive on plans to reduce funding for Libraries NI in 2015-16. The remit of the DCMS is to superintend, and promote the improvement of, the public library service provided by local authorities in England. Funding for Libraries NI is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Arts: VAT

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the oral Answer of the Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy of 15 January 2015, Official Report, column 989, what discussions his Department has had with HM Revenue and Customs on resolving difficulties faced by musicians and other creative professionals in complying with changes to the way VAT is charged on digital services.

Mr Edward Vaizey: DCMS officials are in contact with their counterparts in HM Revenue and Customs in relation to the support and guidance given to small businesses, including those in the creative industries, on this issue.

Mobile Phones

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish the Statement of Commitment between the Government and mobile network operators signed on 17 December 2014.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government will shortly publish its response to the consultation on tackling partial not spots that will also include details of the agreement reached with mobile network operators on 17 December 2014.

Broadband: Urban Areas

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) small and medium-sized enterprises based and (b) broadband connection vouchers distributed in each SuperConnected City.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The numbers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in cities, and other areas in the UK, is collected and made available by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).The table below details the number of broadband connection vouchers distributed in each SuperConnected City, as reported by suppliers and cities to mid-February: SCCP CityNo. of Vouchers to mid-February 2015Aberdeen45Belfast736Birmingham578Brighton & Hove150Bristol167Cambridge152Cardiff332Coventry266Derby81Derry/Londonderry113Edinburgh352Leeds-Bradford1,546London4,010Manchester1,093Newcastle236Newport55Oxford88Perth23Portsmouth108Salford238York78Total10,447

Telford

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much and what proportion of the cost of his visit to Telford on 11 December 2014 was paid out of public funds.

Mrs Helen Grant: On the 11th December 2014, my Right Hon. Friend the Secretary of State visited Telford as part of a wider regional visit to the West Midlands. In Telford he met members of the International Centre to discuss the Government's forthcoming Business Events Strategy. He was accompanied by two officials.The cost charged to the public purse was £96.17p. All other costs were borne by the Conservative Party.

Public Libraries

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2015 to Question 223186, if he will make an assessment of the accuracy of statistics published by Public Libraries News on library closures and libraries transferred to volunteers.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The DCMS has no plans to make an assessment of the accuracy of statistics published by Public Libraries News on library closures and libraries transferred to volunteers. The summary statistics published by Public Libraries News relate to public libraries throughout the United Kingdom. The remit of the DCMS, however, is to superintend and promote the improvement of libraries in England.

Public Service Broadcasting

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2015 to Quesiton 223684, when the consultation on the framework of regulation that governs the balance of payments between broadcasters and platforms will open.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Department intends to consult shortly.

Deputy Prime Minister

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of the data provided by the Electoral Commission on the 2014 Electoral Registers used for the implementation of Individual Electoral Registration.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Government has not produced its own analysis.The registers used for the implementation of Individual Electoral Registration in 2014 were those published before the transition. The Electoral Commission has published its own analysis of the completeness and accuracy of the electoral registers published in February in England, and March 2014 in Scotland.

Department of Health

Infectious Diseases: Research

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will hold discussions with medical bodies on funding for developing a cure for the common cold.

George Freeman: The Department has no current plans to hold such discussions.   In 2013/14, the Medical Research Council (MRC) spent £2.0 million on research related to the common cold. Of this, £0.5 million related to vaccine development and £1.5 million related to underpinning research related to the common cold.   Research projects that related to vaccine development were: - Dr Chiu, Imperial College London, £1.1 million awarded for Cell mediated immunity against RSV and influenza in a human experimental challenge model - Dr Taylor, The Pirbright Institute, £0.5 million awarded for Pre-clinical development of a simian adenovirus vectored respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine   Underpinning research related to the common cold: - Dr Johansson, Imperial College London, £1.1 million awarded for Regulation of interferon production in the lung during respiratory syncytial virus infection - Professor Johnston, Imperial College London, £2.0 million awarded for MRC-GSK Alliance: Mechanisms of interplay between allergy and viruses in asthma - Dr Tuthill, The Pirbright Institute, £0.5 million awarded for Picornavirus capsid protein VP4: Essential role in cell entry and conserved antiviral target - Dr Bhella, University of Glasgow, University unit programme: Structural studies of human viruses and host interactions - Dr Rehwinkel, University of Oxford, University unit programme: Activation of innate nucleic acid sensing pathways during virus infection, inflammation and autoimmunity   In addition to research directly related to the common cold the MRC also funds additional research looking at the effects of the common cold on respiratory conditions such as asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.   The research in this field at Imperial College London is also funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) through the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre.

Influenza: Vaccination

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide funding to ensure that vaccines that are not resistant to flu bug virus are available.

Jane Ellison: The World Health Organization (WHO) monitors influenza globally and each year recommends the strains of flu virus that should be included in the flu vaccine for the forthcoming Northern hemisphere flu season. It takes 6-7 months to produce flu vaccine from the point that the selection of strains is made.   It is not possible to fully predict the strains that will circulate in a subsequent season, and there is always a risk of drift, although this does not occur often. Over the last decade there has generally been a good match between the flu vaccine strains selected and those that circulate in the subsequent season.   Manufacturers who produce flu vaccine adopt the WHO recommendations for the whole of the Northern hemisphere market.   It is crucial that people are not put off having the flu vaccine because of recent reports about reduced effectiveness against one strain of flu this year.

Medical Equipment

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the availability in obtaining dispensing appliance contractor licenses on patients with complex conditions.

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the ease with which small and medium-sized businesses can obtain a dispensing appliance contractor licence; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: There are no licensing requirements to open a private dispensing appliance contractor business. NHS England is responsible for determining whether a dispensing appliance contractor should be granted the right to provide National Health Service pharmaceutical services. Such determinations can generally be appealed to the Family Health Services Appeal Unit of the NHS Litigation Authority.   The Department keeps the operation of the relevant NHS regulations governing the right to provide NHS pharmaceutical services under regular review with NHS England, the NHS Litigation Authority and contractors’ representatives, as appropriate. We are not aware of any significant issues regarding the impact of these arrangements on small and medium-sized businesses offering continence products nor on the adoption of innovation in the NHS.

Asthma

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average cost of hospital stay was for people admitted with a primary diagnosis of asthma in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The information is shown in the following table. It is from reference costs, which are the average unit cost to National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts of providing defined services in a given financial year to NHS patients. Reference costs for acute care are collected by healthcare resource group (HRG), which are standard groupings of clinically similar treatments that consume similar levels of healthcare resource. The costs shown in the table represent all HRGs for admitted care for asthma.Average cost of admitted patient care[1] for asthma2009/10£7762010/11£7992011/12£8372012/13£8462013/14£860   Source: Reference Costs, Department of Health   Notes: During the last five years, the HRGs relating to admitted treatment for asthma have changed. The HRGs used for each year are as follows:   2009/10 to 2011/12: DZ15A Asthma with Intubation, with Major CC DZ15B Asthma with Intubation, with Intermediate CC DZ15C Asthma with Intubation, without CC DZ15D Asthma without Intubation, with Major CC DZ15E Asthma without Intubation, with Intermediate CC DZ15F Asthma without Intubation, without CC PA12Z Asthma or Wheezing   2012/13: DZ15G Asthma with Intubation DZ15H Asthma without Intubation, with CC Score 9+ DZ15J Asthma without Intubation, with CC Score 6-8 DZ15K Asthma without Intubation, with CC Score 3-5 DZ15L Asthma without Intubation, with CC Score 0-2 PA12Z Asthma or Wheezing   2013/14: DZ15G Asthma with Intubation DZ15H Asthma without Intubation, with CC Score 9+ DZ15J Asthma without Intubation, with CC Score 6-8 DZ15K Asthma without Intubation, with CC Score 3-5 DZ15L Asthma without Intubation, with CC Score 0-2 PD12A Paediatric Asthma or Wheezing, with CC Score 4+ PD12B Paediatric Asthma or Wheezing, with CC Score 1-3 PD12C Paediatric Asthma or Wheezing, with CC Score 0   HRGs beginning with DZ relate to adults only HRGs beginning with PA or PD relate to children only   [1] Admitted Patient Care includes elective care (including excess bed-days), non-elective care (including excess bed-days), day cases and regular day or night admissions

Mental Health Services: Kent

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision of mental health services for children and young people in South Kent; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: This is a matter for the local National Health Service.   The delivery of Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (ChYPS) in South Kent is provided by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT), and commissioned by local NHS clinical commissioning groups and Kent County Council.   We are advised by NHS England that SPFT is compliant with contract targets, in that the current average waiting time for initial routine assessments is four weeks, and from referral to the start of routine treatment is 10 weeks. All emergency referrals are responded to within 24 hours and urgent referrals within five days.   This Government has invested £54 million into the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme over 2011-15/16, which aims to improve access to evidence-based psychological therapies and collaboration with children, young people and families. We have also invested an additional £7 million this year to provide around 50 extra Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services beds for young patients in the areas with the least provision – 53 new beds have now been commissioned.   I launched the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce, which will consider key issues facing child and adolescent mental health. The Government will publish a report on the Taskforce shortly.

Prosthetics

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on the use of 3D printing in research, design and production of recreational prosthetics.

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) children and (b) adults in the civilian population in England have been fitted with recreational prosthetics in each of the last four years.

Norman Lamb: There is currently no policy on the use of 3D printers.   Information on the provision of recreational prosthetics is not held centrally.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when vaccinations for human papillomavirus for men who have sex with men will be implemented.

Jane Ellison: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the independent expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters agreed at its October meeting that further consultation was needed with stakeholders before finalising its advice to ministers on the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of men who have sex with men (MSM). It held a stakeholder consultation between 12 November and 7 January and we understand that the JCVI considered the outcome of the consultation at its meeting on 4 February 2015, as it reviewed its provisional advice on MSM.   Any implementation of an HPV MSM vaccination programme will be dependent on the JCVI’s final advice. We look forward to receiving the JCVI’s final advice in due course.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans are in place for an audit of the commissioning process for sexual health services.

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that standards of patient access, service quality and patient safety are maintained by local authorities in the commissioning of clinical sexual health services.

Jane Ellison: Since March 2013, the Department, Public Health England (PHE) and other partners have produced a range of policy documents and guidance for local authorities, clinical commissioning groups, providers and others to support the provision of joined up, high quality sexual health services. This guidance includes:   A Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-framework-for-sexual-health-improvement-in-england   Making it work – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-sexual-health-reproductive-health-and-hiv-services   HIV, sexual and reproductive health current issues bulletin Issue 1: Payments for patients living outside your local authority - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hiv-sexual-and-reproductive-health-current-issues-bulletin-issue-1-november-2013   HIV, sexual and reproduction health current issues bulletin Issue 2: Commissioning Sexual Health Services from Primary Care – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hiv-sexual-and-reproductive-health-current-issues-bulletin-issue-2-december-2013   HIV, sexual and reproduction health current issues bulletin Issue 3: Commissioning HIV Services – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hiv-sexual-and-reproductive-health-current-issues-bulletin-issue-3-february-2014   HIV, sexual and reproduction health current issues bulletin Issue 4: Tendering Sexual Health Services – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hiv-sexual-and-reproductive-health-current-issues-bulletin-issue-4-may-2014   Sexual Health Clinical Governance: Key principles to assist service commissioners and providers to operate clinical governance systems in sexual health services – https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/252975/Sexual_Health_Clinical_Governance_final.pdf   Commissioning Sexual Health Services and Interventions: Best Practice Guidance for Local Authorities – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-sexual-health-services-and-interventions-best-practice-guidance-for-local-authorities   Sexual Health: Key Principals for Cross Charging – https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226325/Sexual_Health_Key_Principles_for_cross_charging.pdf   Integrated Sexual Health Services: National Service Specification – https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210726/Service_Specification_with_covering_note.pdf   PHE is planning a joint review with the Association of Directors of Public Health and other partners of the current commissioning arrangements for Sexual Health, Reproductive Health and HIV services. The review is intended to look at current commissioning arrangements and identify any issues arising from the changes to the commissioning of services, together with examples of good practice. It will be based on a structured questionnaire which will enable comparable information to be collected through interview with key partners. A summary of the findings will be published in the summer of 2015.

Weather: Health Education

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent on the NHS Choices Winter Health Advice campaign; and for what purpose that expenditure has been incurred.

Jane Ellison: The total budget for NHS England’s national ‘Feeling under the weather’ (NHS Choices Winter Health Advice) campaign, for financial year 2014-15, is £6 million. The budget delivered two waves of national campaign activity. The first wave ran from 27 October 2014 to 8 January 2015 and the second wave from 17 January to 1 March 2015.   The ‘Feeling under the weather’ campaign has been created to help reduce the number of elderly and frail people requiring emergency admissions through urgent and emergency care services, particularly accident and emergency departments. The campaign aims to achieve this by raising awareness about what medical help is available and should be sought, depending on the severity of the ailment.

Radiotherapy

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what type of proton therapy machine NHS England plans to install in (a) Manchester and (b) London.

Jane Ellison: The Christie NHS Foundation Trust (Manchester) and University College Hospitals London NHS Foundation Trust, subject to HM Treasury approval, will install high energy proton beam therapy equipment.

Cancer

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the results of the 2014 National Cancer Peer Review programme cycle will be published.

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects to confirm the funding to be allocated for the continuation of the National Cancer Peer Review programme.

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether funding has been secured for continuation of the National Cancer Peer Review.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what level of funding is required for the National Cancer Peer Review Programme to continue.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to make an announcement on the future of the National Cancer Peer Review Programme.

Jane Ellison: NHS England is currently reviewing the national peer review programme for cancer with a view to considering how its success might be extended into other new areas of specialised commissioning. The Chief Executive of NHS England has confirmed that the programme will continue, playing a critical part of any broader peer review programme NHS England may look to introduce. NHS England is in the process of allocating funding for all of its programme funded activity, and as part of this the national peer review programme for cancer will be funded to enable it to continue.

Health Services

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which NHS clinical reference groups are chaired by employees of NHS England or people receiving financial reimbursement from NHS England.

Jane Ellison: NHS England has advised that the chairs of Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs) are appointed senior clinicians from around the country who are acting on a voluntary basis with the support of their employing organisations (usually NHS trusts). They are therefore not salaried, employed or reimbursed by NHS England in respect of their CRG roles.

Speech Therapy

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on which specialised augmentative and alternative communication providers have hired speech and language therapists since signing contracts with NHS England area teams; and how many such therapists have been hired by each such provider.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much of the (a) £15 million convergence funding allocated for specialised augmentative and alternative communication services and (b) £7.5 million convergence funding allocated for specialised environmental control services is forecast to have been spent by the relevant specialised services by the end of the 2014-15 financial year.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when it is planned for the revised NHS England service specification D01/S/b Complex Disability Equipment Communication Aids (Specialised AAC services), published as Interim for adoption from 01/10/14, to be approved by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which specialised augmentative and alternative communication providers have signed contracts, or variations of contract, with the appropriate NHS England Area Team; and on what date was each such contract or variation signed.

Norman Lamb: Since 1 April 2013, NHS England has been responsible for commissioning Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) aids for patients with complex disability whose needs require specialised assessment.   NHS England has advised that details of contracts for AAC providers are held at local area team level. Contracts are in place (or a contract variation with a supporting implementation plan) in the following areas:   - South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw (covering Yorkshire and the Humber) - Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral (covering North West and Wessex) - Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country (covering the West Midlands)   The following areas have agreed plans with providers and are in the process of finalising the contracts:   - Leicestershire and Lincolnshire (covering East Midlands) - London - Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (covering the North East) - Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset and South Gloucester (covering the South West) - Surrey and Sussex (covering the South East)   As there is currently no service in East Anglia, £2.1 million of the £15 million funding is held in a national reserve while work is undertaken to establish the service requirements. The local commissioners regard this as a priority and have committed £100,000 to spend immediately on equipment.   In January this year, it was agreed that Cambridge University Hospitals will act as the hub in a network model covering the East of England. The work to establish the service is now in train. It is intended that there will be a limited service up to April 2015 with priority given to people with degenerative conditions until the recruitment process is complete. The aim is to have the full service in place soon after this.   It has been agreed that there will be a further stocktake of progress on all the agreed contract changes and action plans in the next few weeks.   Information is not collected at a national level regarding the number of additional speech and language therapists recruited. Recruitment is underway and progress is being monitored by the local commissioning teams of NHS England as part of the routine contract management arrangements.   Information is not collected at a national level regarding the spend by providers on AACs. The full year allocations of £15 million and £7.5 million will be provided recurrently in full from 1 April 2015.   NHS England has confirmed that the service specification on its website is the current version that is in use and was signed off by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group in 2014 before it was published. There are proposals to review this in light of the allocations of new funding to new providers from October 2014 and this will form part of NHS England’s proposed work programme for 2015/16.

Radiotherapy

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients were sent abroad for proton therapy in each of the last five years; how many such patients were children in each of those years; and what the annual cost was to the NHS in each of those years.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is provided in the following tables.   Number of patients sent abroad for proton beam therapy (PBT) in the last five years  AdultPaediatricTotal Approved201022345620111961802012208610620132399122201432102134   Cost to the National Health Service of sending patients abroad for PBT in the last five years 2009-10 £1.32 million2010-11 £4.48 million2011-12 £8.80 million2012-12 £8.23 million2013-14 £9.63 million   In April 2012, the Secretary of State announced that £250 million will be invested to build PBT facilities at The Christie Hospital in Manchester and University College London Hospitals. Work has already started and the first facility is due to become operational in 2018.

Dialysis Machines

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to ensure equal patient access to dialysis treatment throughout the UK when the provision for dialysis treatment is transferred to clinical commissioning groups.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans for the transfer of dialysis treatment to clinical commissioning groups to take place.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what protocols are in place for the transfer of responsibility for the provision of dialysis treatment to local clinical commissioning groups.

George Freeman: Ministers are responsible for deciding which specialised services should be commissioned by NHS England. Ministers obtain advice to inform these decisions from the Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group (PSSAG), a Department of Health expert committee.   PSSAG considered a proposal from NHS England to transfer commissioning responsibility for renal dialysis services from NHS England to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). PSSAG advised Ministers, that on the evidence presented to it, renal dialysis services were suitable for commissioning by CCGs and did not meet the requirements for national commissioning by NHS England.   However, the proposal has since been referred back to PSSAG for reconsideration after the Department became aware that PSSAG was provided with incorrect evidence when it first considered the proposals.   No further decision on the transfer of commissioning responsibility for renal dialysis services can be made until PSSAG has reconsidered the proposal and provided Ministers with its updated advice. Commissioning responsibility for these services will therefore remain with NHS England at least until 1 April 2016.

Dialysis Machines

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who his Department consulted on the transfer of dialysis treatment to clinical commissioning groups.

George Freeman: Ministers have obtained advice from the Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group (PSSAG), a Department of Health expert committee, on the proposal to transfer commissioning responsibility for renal dialysis services. Ministers have also consulted with NHS England. The Department ran a six week public consultation on the timing and logistics of the proposed transfer, which received responses from a wide range of individuals and organisations, including patients, clinical commissioning groups, clinicians, National Health Service trusts, charities, and trade organisations.   Ministers have now referred the proposal back to PSSAG for reconsideration taking account of corrected evidence.

Hereditary Diseases

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the health effects of consanguineous marriages; and what steps he is taking to reduce them.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The NHS Born in Bradford study found that although most babies born to a couple who are related do not have a genetic problem, consanguineous marriage can increase the risk of birth defect from 3% to 6%. Further information is available on the Born in Bradford website at:   http://www.borninbradford.nhs.uk/parentstudies/130/StudyDetails/studies-into-the-impact-of-congenital-anomalies-on-health/   It is important that antenatal, paediatric and genetic services work with communities to improve awareness of the risk of consanguineous marriage. Local commissioners are best placed to determine whether action is needed in their area. To support clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), NHS England published in February 2014, Our Ambition to Reduce Premature Mortality: A resource to support commissioners in setting a level of ambition. In line with the document, CCGs may wish to consider investment in community-based health champions and communication campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the implications of genetic inheritance alongside community based access to genetic counselling and family planning services and enhanced diagnostic services.   A copy of the resource document is available on the NHS England website at:   http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/mort-res-22-5.pdf

Asthma

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2014 to Question 211703, how many people were recorded on a general practice register with a diagnosis of asthma in 2013-14.

Jane Ellison: The number of people in England recorded on a general practice register, as part of the quality and outcomes framework, with a diagnosis of asthma in 2013-14 was 3,340,484.

Family Nurse Partnership Programme

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to publish the next phase of the evaluation of the Family Nurse Partnership.

Dr Daniel Poulter: We have commissioned a large-scale independent randomised control trial to evaluate the Family Nurse Partnership programme’s effectiveness in England. The initial findings from the trial will be published later this year.

Epilepsy: Young People

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support teenagers with epilepsy.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline The diagnosis and management of the epilepsies in adults and children in primary and secondary care, published in January 2012, sets out best practice for clinicians in the diagnosis, treatment and care of children, young people and adults with epilepsy.   The guidance sets out that the physical, psychological and social needs of young people with epilepsy should always be considered by healthcare professionals. Attention should be paid to their relationships with family and friends, and at school. In addition, the guidance makes clear that teenagers with epilepsy should have a named clinician to support transition to adult services.

Cervical Cancer

Mr Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will change guidelines on cervical smear tests to permit GPs to conduct such tests on women outside of routine screening time frames, if the GP believes that such tests are necessary to investigate presenting symptoms.

Jane Ellison: A cervical screening test is a population screening test, not a diagnostic test, and is therefore not appropriate for women with symptoms. Waiting two weeks for a smear test result could delay examination by a gynaecologist. The Department has published guidance for general practitioners (GPs) on managing young women aged 20-24 with abnormal vaginal bleeding. This is available at:   http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/cervical/publications/doh-guidelines-young-women.pdf   Information for women of all ages on the symptoms of cervical cancer is available on the NHS Choices website at:   http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer-of-the-cervix/pages/introduction.aspx   The Department advises women who are concerned about cervical cancer to speak to their GP.

NHS: Empty Property

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which NHS properties in Sussex are currently unused; and what estimate he has made of the value of those properties.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The following sites in East and West Sussex have been declared surplus or potentially surplus by the National Health Service.   TrustAddressSussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust6 Westbourne Gardens, HoveBowhill, HellinglyFoxholme Cottages, Summersdale Road ChichesterPrimrose Cottages, Summersdale Road, ChichesterWestern Sussex Hospitals NHS TrustSouthlands Hospital, Shoreham by SeaWorthing Hospital, 39 Selden Road, WorthingWorthing Hospital, 22 Lyndhurst Road, Worthing1 & 2 Rotherfield Mews, MidhurstBrighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS TrustBelle Vue Court Flats, Paston Place, Brighton   The Department does not hold centrally information about the value of these properties.

NHS: Empty Property

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the current value of unused NHS property.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the proceeds of NHS property sales since 2010 have reverted to (a) HM Treasury and (b) the NHS.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on retention of unused NHS properties left vacant after three years.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the value is of NHS property declared surplus to requirements since 2010.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Over the current spending review period the Department has not returned any income from asset sales to HM Treasury and the proceeds have remained within the National Health Service.   It is the responsibility of each NHS organisation to decide how its property is used; decisions about whether buildings are surplus to NHS requirements are determined locally. The Department provides guidance on the management of property owned by NHS organisations in its publication Health Building Note 00-08 The efficient management of healthcare estates and facilities. This states that surplus property should be sold as soon as possible, but it does not make any reference to the period when a site is vacant.   The publication can be found at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-efficient-management-of-healthcare-estates-and-facilities-health-building-note-00-08   The Department does not hold centrally, information about the value of currently unused NHS property. Between 2010-11 and 2013-14 foundation trusts and NHS trusts reported that they had disposed of £684 million worth of capital assets.

Obesity

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with NICE on its potential new indicator on obesity to be included in NICE's Quality and Outcomes Framework indicator menu.

Jane Ellison: Departmental officials have regular discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and have responded to its recent public consultation on potential new indicators for inclusion in the 2016/17 Quality and Outcomes Framework indicator menu.

Obesity

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of patients identified by their general practitioner as being obese have (a) received follow-up advice on how to lose or manage their weight and (b) succeeded in losing weight and maintaining their weight loss in the last 12 months.

Jane Ellison: The existing obesity related Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) indicator supports general practitioner’s to identify patients who are overweight or obese. There are, however, no routinely required assessments of the number of people who have received follow up advice, lost weight or maintained weight loss over 12 months.   Local authorities, working with local and national partners across the health and social care system, have responsibility for public health and the assessment and provision of preventative weight management services. Public Health England (PHE) works closely with local authorities to ensure access to services and outcomes are recorded, though this is not routinely reported back to a national database.   PHE is responding to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence consultation on the QOF and Clinical Commissioning Group Outcome Indicators to highlight improvements to the system that support intervention and follow up support for patients identified as overweight and obese.